World Economic Forum Davos

World Economic Forum

Economic inequality is increasing across the globe, per a report released Monday by the World Economic Forum.

The Inclusive Growth and Development Report 2017 also said median per capita income fell by 2.4 percent among people in the world’s richest nations and that growth in those nations slowed to a crawl. The figures reflected the years 2008-13.

The report ranked nations with an Inclusive Development Index (IDI) designed to determine whether economic gains largely benefited the country’s wealthiest people or the growth was spread among the larger population. The United States ranked 23rd out of the nation’s most advanced economies in that regard, one spot above Japan. Other countries that were cited as faring poorly when it came to inclusiveness included Brazil, Ireland, Mexico, Nigeria and South Africa.

Per the report, the United States ranked 29th out of 30 in net income inequality, 29th in wealth inequality and 28th in poverty rate. The U.S. did, however, rank No. 4 in median income.

The top five advanced nations in the IDI were Norway, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Iceland and Denmark — European nations all considerably more homogenous than the United States. Norway, per the report, “saw living standards rise by 10.6 percent over 2008-13 while the economy grew only 0.5 percent.”

In the report, the World Economic Forum said it was “proposing a shift in economic policy priorities to respond more effectively to the insecurity and inequality accompanying technological change and globalization.”

The wide-ranging report graded countries on an assortment of social and economic indicators.

The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, starts Tuesday.